March 16th: "Access to water – a human right"
In Naiguatá, a city on Venezuela's north coast, people wait for water from a cistern truck. Photo: ACT, 1999.
Talking about the human right to water, what does it mean? What needs to be done so that people can claim their right? Leading up to World Water Day (March 22nd) a half-day conference organized by the Swiss working group "Water - a public good" and supported by the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches and the Ecumenical Water Network will try to tackle these and related questions. Among the speakers will be Maude Barlow, winner of the Alternative Nobel Prize, Canada --- Carlo Donati, Executive Vice President Nestlé, Switzerland --- Rodrigo Gutiérrez Rivas, COMDA, Mexico
In the past few years, the human right to water has found growing attention, partly due to the persistent initiatives and claims of non-governmental organizations from the North and South. The human rights bodies of the United Nations increasingly work on this issue. The newly created Human Rights Council in Geneva has adopted a resolution asking the High Commission for Human Rights to generate a study dealing with the human right to water.
On the other hand, different governments as well as parts of the business community remain sceptical and even hostile towards the human right to water. What are their arguments? What is the position of the Swiss government? What are the demands and expectations of civil society and NGOs? And what needs to be done so that people can claim their right? The conference will provide the opportunity to representatives from NGOs, business and governments to discuss these questions.
The event will take place in Bern (Switzerland), Friday, March 16th, 2007, 8.45 am - 1 pm in the Kultur-Casino (Herrengasse 25, 3011 Bern).
For the detailed programme and to register, please refer to the homepage of Alliance Sud in French, German, or Italian. Please note that the participation fee is 50 CHF.
* The following organizations and institutions are part of the working group "Water – a public good": Alliance Sud, Amnesty International, Ärztinnen und Ärzte für Umweltschutz, Associazione consumatrici della Svizzera italiana, Attac Schweiz, Attac Biel, ChristNet, Greenpeace Schweiz, Helvetas, Kanton Jura (Amt für Wasser und Naturschutz), Schweizerischer Bauernverband, Schweizerische Greina-Stiftung, VPOD.
The conference is also being supported by the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches (SEK) and the Ecumenical Water Network (EWN).